Movie as A Medium to Create an Equal Society

Department of Communication Sciences, Faculty of Social and Political Science, Diponegoro University

^* Corresponding author: wening29@gmail.com

Abstract

Kartini movie may not succeed commercially, but it had 34 nominations and won 3 awards from 3 different film festivals. These different perspectives allowing variety tendencies of active audience reception. In prior researches, shows that Indonesia still facing a gender inequality in the fields of education. This study aims provides overview of the four active audiences reception on Kartini movie, in order to be a medium that creating an equal society using qualitative approach and constructivism paradigm. This study concluded that there are tendencies of dominant meanings acceptance in Kartini movie. All of the four subjects felt that it delivered such powerful messages about creating an equal society. They agreed that the messages delivered in three main scenes of the movie. The first scene is when Kartini persuade her sisters to free their souls and minds by reading books. The second scene is when Kartini was told by a moslem leaders, that both of men and women must have equal opportunities to a proper education. The last scene is when Kartini giving terms and conditions to a man who proposed her to be his wives, it successfully giving a proper education to women and children in needs.